Pumpkin Patch Nursery Crescent Road Worthing

Pumpkin Patch Nursery Crescent Road Worthing
Unique reference number (URN): 2844277
Address: 40 Crescent Road, Worthing, BN11 1RQ
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registered with Ofsted: 23/06/2025
Registers: EYR
Registered person: Pumpkin Patch Nurseries Ltd
Inspection report: 26 March 2026
Exceptional
Strong standard
Expected standard
Needs attention
Urgent improvement
Safeguarding standards met
The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for
governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open
culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively
identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe.
How we evaluate safeguarding
When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:
Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding.
Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all
legal requirements are met.

Strong standard
Achievement Strong standard
Babies and children, including those with special educational needs and or disabilities and
those who face other barriers to learning and/or wellbeing, are developing an extensive
range of skills and knowledge across the curriculum. They delight at beach school sessions;
children work together to keep each other safe as they prepare to go to the beach. Older
babies and children show highly impressive personal, social and emotional skills such as
recognising when their friends are upset and offering them cuddles and reassurance in a
supportive and caring way.
Children of all ages are highly articulate communicators. Babies show early progress in their
interactions and emerging language skills as they thoroughly enjoy taking part in group
activities. Older children speak clearly in lengthy sentences. They work alongside highly
skilful staff to use detailed language as they draw and create their own stories. Children gain
confidence as they tell and act out their stories to their friends. Furthermore, they are
supported to learn words and songs in other languages.
Curriculum and teaching Strong standard
Leaders have developed a high-quality curriculum that is inclusive for all children including
those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those that face other
barriers to learning and/or wellbeing. Children are supported to access a range of resources
depending on how and where they wish to learn. For example, children access spaces
where they can relax and be calm as well as spaces where they can be physically active,
such as riding bicycles.
Staff regularly assess children's progress to ensure that learning builds progressively on
what children already know and can do. This also enables staff to identify any gaps or
barriers to learning and respond swiftly. Children with SEND are supported through highly
effective individual plans that are reviewed regularly with parents. This ensures all children
make significant progress from their starting points.
Communication and language development is a strong focus throughout the setting. Staff
introduce new vocabulary and use sign language to support all babies and children. They
consistently modify their language and repeat key words for children who find it difficult to
listen and focus. Children are provided with smaller group activities to further support their
listening and attention skills. Mathematical development is strengthened through practical
experiences. For example, children discuss with staff and their friends how many segments
the fruit can be cut into at snack time and count the pieces together accurately.
Inclusion Strong standard
Leaders and staff are extremely passionate about removing barriers to learning for all
children including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those
that face other barriers to learning and/or wellbeing. They use additional funding very

Expected standard
effectively to widen children's experiences and improve their outcomes. For instance, they
provide children with engaging small group activities, which are highly effective in supporting
children's developmental progress, especially their communication and language
development. Furthermore, they provide children with enriching opportunities, such as yoga
sessions, that support children to learn about regulating their emotions.
Assessment and monitoring procedures are sharply focused and regular. Gaps in children's
learning are identified swiftly. Leaders and staff promptly respond to these gaps, putting
highly impactful strategies in place and skilfully adapt their teaching. They carefully monitor
these strategies and adaptations to ensure that they are effective in helping children to
make progress from their starting points.
Leaders prioritise and target their training to consistently meet the needs of all children,
including those with SEND and those that face other barriers to learning and/or wellbeing.
They have a clear understanding of local processes for seeking support from professionals.
Leaders and staff are highly effective in working in partnership with parents, professionals
and other settings children attend, to ensure children have the best possible start.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard
Leaders and staff have created a warm and welcoming environment where expectations for
behaviour are clear and consistently reinforced. Generally, staff tailor their support to babies
and children's individual abilities and stages of development. Babies and children respond
well to praise and reassurance and take pride in their achievements. Children take on
responsibilities and tasks, such as completing daily risk assessments. This helps them to
develop a sense of belonging.
Older children understand routines and what is expected of them. For example, during forest
school, rules are clear and children follow them confidently. Furthermore, they know and
understand their established routines, such as snack time and tidy up time. However,
mealtime routines for babies are not yet fully effective, as some babies have a lengthy wait
for their turn to have lunch. At these times, staff do not consistently use resources or their
environment effectively to support all babies to feel settled and engaged within their daily
routine.
Babies and children show kindness to one another as they play collaboratively with their
friends, taking turns, sharing and making sure everyone feels included. For example, they
have fun as they take part in group activities with enthusiasm. Furthermore, they take turns
using the endoscope to look at the seeds they are planting. Leaders actively promote
punctuality and regular attendance and work closely with parents to ensure they understand
the importance of this.

Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard
Staff build warm and nurturing relationships with children from the moment they start. They
prioritise taking the time to get to know children's routines, interests and personalities. Key
persons know the children extremely well, and they form meaningful bonds, responding to
children's needs attentively. These attachments support children's confidence and emotional
wellbeing.
Children develop increasing independence as they move through the setting. For example,
older children delight at taking on the responsibility to complete daily risk assessments.
They confidently share their findings with staff and their friends, as they talk about how
everyone can keep themselves safe. Staff support older babies to feed themselves and
drink from open cups. Older children begin to master the skills of serving their own food and
pour their own drinks. Staff demonstrate a secure understanding of children's allergies,
dietary needs and weaning stages. For instance, they check ingredients and adapt menus
accordingly. Staff typically provide positive support for babies and children's wellbeing.
However, some opportunities to deepen this further through mealtimes routines for younger
children are not fully established.
Staff implement calm and targeted strategies that promote engagement. For example, they
consistently support babies and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities,
to play alongside their peers. Staff use sensitive, purposeful interactions to help babies and
children talk about their feelings. They model vocabulary and use sign language to build on
the language children need to express themselves confidently.
Leadership and governance Expected standard
Leaders are passionate and committed to providing all babies and children with a nurturing
and highly stimulating environment. They have a shared vision for the setting and an
understanding of its strengths and areas for development. Leaders have a secure
understanding of their local community and have establish excellent links. For example, they
work in partnership with local community groups to give children a wealth of opportunities.
Leaders value and nurture staff's wellbeing. They provide guidance, support and ensure that
staff's workloads are manageable. Staff are provided with clear inductions when they start
and ongoing supervisions. Leaders provide staff with extensive training opportunities to
support their ongoing professional development. However, leaders do not consistently
provide sharply focused support to staff, to ensure all staff understand their roles and
responsibilities, especially during transition times for younger children.
Leaders know the children and families they work with extremely well and provide extensive
support and guidance. They have established positive working relationships with other
agencies, professionals and other settings children attend. This helps to provide swift
support and intervention for all children, including those with special educational needs
and/or disabilities and those that face other barriers to learning and/or wellbeing.

What it's like to be a child at this setting
Babies and children thrive at this friendly, welcoming and inclusive setting. Leaders and staff
have high expectations of all children. Staff have a robust understanding of how to build on
babies and children's starting points and successfully extend their learning. The curriculum
is delivered through high-quality teaching and meaningful engagement with children.
Thoughtful adaptations and adjustments to activities ensure that all children, including those
with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face other barriers to
learning and/or wellbeing, benefit from a wide range of learning opportunities.
The highly motivating and carefully planned environment ignites children's curiosity. For
example, older children are highly engaged in forest school activities where they develop
their physical skills as they use hammers to bang in pegs. Younger children enjoy exploring
as they move around their environment engaging in activities and relaxing in calming
spaces.
Babies and children are extremely well supported with their communication and language
development. They develop a love of books and enthusiastically engage in listening to
familiar stories. Younger children delight at taking part in group activities where they take
turns, share and listen to one another as they sing their welcome song and nursery rhymes.
Older children beam as they carefully collect water and describe what they are doing as they
use pipettes to move the water to fill containers. Staff support children's mathematical
development well as they talk to the children about the quantity of water they have,
discussing how many more pipettes of water they need. Children play incredibly well with
each other and have purposeful conversations about their play. They are well prepared for
school and future learning.
Partnerships with parents are extremely positive. Parents value and appreciate the support
and discussions they have about their children's care and progress. Leaders understand the
importance of attendance and work flexibly with parents to help children attend regularly.
Next steps
Leaders should strengthen support for staff to ensure they consistently have a secure
understanding of their roles and responsibilities throughout the daily routine, to provide a
consistent approach to securing excellence across the setting.
Leaders should strengthen mealtime routines for younger children, to ensure support for
children's emotional wellbeing is consistently highly effective.

Inspector:
Nicole Atkinson
About this setting
Unique reference number (URN): 2844277
Address:
40 Crescent Road
Worthing
BN11 1RQ
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registration date: 23/06/2025
Registered person: Pumpkin Patch Nurseries Ltd
Register(s): EYR
Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:00 - 18:00
Local authority: West Sussex
Facts and figures used on inspection
This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.
This data is from 26 March 2026
Children numbers
About this inspection
The inspector spoke with leaders, practitioners and the special educational needs
coordinator during the inspection.
We carried out this inspection under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the
quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The
registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for
children's learning, development and care, known as the early years foundation stage.

Age range of children at the time of inspection
0 to 4
Total number of places
60
Our grades explained
Exceptional
Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.
Strong standard
The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of
them.
Expected standard
The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are
following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional
standards expected of them.
Needs attention
The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary
improvements.
Urgent improvement
The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of
education and/or care.
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) inspects
services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects
and regulates services that care for children and young people.
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